A Bronze Age Wooden Idol in the Bog of Cullen, County Tipperary

Löwenmensch figurine 

by Dagmar Hollmann / Wikimedia Commons - "License: CC BY-SA 4.0"

I'm taking a break from Early Medieval and Gaelic inauguration sites to write about an interesting reference I came across recently.

I watched this lecture by Prof John Waddell for a course I was doing
https://youtu.be/-GI98d0EdAg
and at 18.01 mins he mentions a "Tipperary Idol" that had been used as a gate-post. I did a brief search for it at the time but couldn't find anything about it.

Recently the owner of https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishWay/ kindly shared some of my facebook posts and we have corresponded back and forth on occasion since. They recently suggested a book to read called "Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions" by James Bonwick. They thought it might be of interest. I had a quick look through it and the first thing I found was the original reference to the "Tipperary Idol" that Prof Waddell had mentioned.

On pg 98 it says

"A letter written to Pownall by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong, about 1750, has the story of an image found sixty years previously, in the bog of Cullen, Tipperary. It was a large wooden image. Mention is made that "little pins or pegs were stuck in different parts of it; and that Mr. Damer imagined that the little gold plates found there (four inches by three each), one of which I saw with him, were suspended by these pegs in different parts of that image." Subsequently the god was converted into a gate-post, and lost sight of after.

On pg 99 it mentions that the account of this find was reported to the Society of Antiquarians in 1774 and begins to describe it

"The fragment," said he, "which is said to be part of an image found at the same time, is of a black wood, entirely covered and plated with thin gold, and seems to have been part of the breasts, the tet or nipple of which is radiated in hammered or chased work, in lines radiating from a centre, as is usual in the images of the sun; and round the periphery, or setting on of the breast, there are like radiations in a specific number, with other linear ornaments. There is another fragment of the same kind of wood, which seems to be a fragment of an Ammonian horn; there are in it the golden studs or rivets by which it may be supposed to have been plated with gold. The first account I had of this image was that it was of a human form, with a lion's face; then, that it was indeed biform, but of what sort not specified. I have since been informed that the image, whatever it was, was of a size sufficient to make a gate-post"

He then rather fancifully attributes the "Lion's face" as "the symbolic image of Mithras, as used by the Gadetani (of Spain), for which I will refer to the Saturnalia of Macrobius, when he quotes a historical passage to show that the Hercules of Gades (Cadiz) and of the sun were one and the same numen, represented by biform figures with heads of lions, radiating like the sun."

We now can probably say with confidence that this was a Bronze Age wooden Idol of which a number have been found around Ireland in wetland contexts.

I was actually able to find the original 1774 reference on google books here on pg 357

Some other artefacts found with the Idol

I used a Wooden Idol from Germany as a representation of what the "Tipperary Idol" may have looked like although the Lowenmensch figurine comes from a slightly different time period.

So what were these idols?

From Stanley, Michael. “THE 'RED MAN' OF WAR AND DEATH?” Archaeology Ireland, vol. 26, no. 2, 2012, pp. 34–37. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41550268.

Description of similar Idols found before 2001:

"Prior to 2001, only three prehistoric idols were known from Ireland, all of which were recovered from wetlands. The oldest figure was recovered from disturbed contexts at the early medieval 'royal' crannog at Lagore, Co. Meath. This oak figure (47cm in height) is explicitly anthropomorphic, with a clearly identifiable head, shoulders and legs. It may also have a phallus, which has led to its interpretation as a male figure. Radiocarbon dating returned an early Bronze Age date of 2135-1944 cal. BC (Coles 1990). A second Bronze Age figure, dated to 1096-906 cal. BC {ibid.), was discovered by turf-cutters at Ralaghan, Co. Cavan. This yew figure (114cm in height) represents the most explicitly anthropomorphic idol discovered in Ireland. Its head has clearly depicted facial features, the body is finely carved and, although armless, the figure has distinct legs. A circular slot in the pelvic area may have held a separate phallus but might also represent female genitalia. The third idol, from Corlea, Co. Longford, is the least representational. Its classification as anthropomorphic is subjective to some extent - although this can be said of numerous European examples (van der Sanden and Capelle 2001). It consists of a 5m-tall ash roundwood cut to a point at one end, while the other end has a carved neck and bulbous head."

In Offaly a number of similar Idols have been found since 2001 at Kilbeg and Ballykilleen.

Here is some discussion as to their function / meaning:

Anthropomorphic wooden figures have generally been interpreted as representations of deities in human form. These idols would presumably have been revered and may have been permanently on display at cult centres prior to their final deposition. Alternatively, they may have functioned as portable items, exhibited at significant times of the year. When not in use they could have been deposited in bogs for safekeeping and preservation. Idols found in close association with wooden structures have been documented, however, and the Offaly figures probably belong in this category. (Although the Kilbeg figure was an isolated find, it is possible that it originally lay beneath a trackway/platform, all evidence for which had been destroyed prior to discovery.) There is a case for interpreting some of the figures as protective markers, imbued with symbolic meaning and perceived supernatural powers, ensuring the safety of people traversing/accessing the bog on trackways or while using platforms. If set upright, they would have been helpful visual aids demarcating safe areas. The abraded example from Ballykilleen may even have been adorned with a wind-blown textile, as suggested for a figure associated with an Iron Age trackway in Wittemoor, Germany (van der Sanden and Capelle 2001, 49). The figures may also have signified ownership of particular routeways or territories - giving physical expression to a distinct cultural identity guaranteed by the presence of supernatural guardians (or effigies thereof). Nonetheless, most of the Ballykilleen examples appear to have been deliberately deposited beneath/within structures. Perhaps they were deposited in this manner so as to confer supernatural protection upon the sites and those who used them. These figures may have been revered in other contexts prior to becoming offerings of this sort, or perhaps they were created specifically for the purpose. The unweathered condition of the figures certainly indicates that they were not subject to prolonged exposure. An alternative interpretation is that these idols were ritually deposited as human effigies in lieu of actual human sacrifices. Alder's blood-red colour was perhaps symbolic of the blood of victims of ritualistic killings - a precursor to the ritual deaths evidenced by some Iron Age bog bodies. A late Bronze Age alder figure from Balluchulish, Scotland, may have been such an offering. An account of its discovery suggests that it was deposited face down in a pit at the base of a bog and held in place by stakes and wickerwork. It may be significant that the Kilbeg figure was similarly deposited in a prone position. Evidence from Iron Age bog bodies indicates that certain individuals were ritually slain, deposited in bogs and held in place by brushwood, stakes and so on. It is difficult to believe that these wooden 'human bodies' are not metaphorically related to actual human remains recovered from bogs (O'Sullivan 2007, 188). Kelly (2006) argues that the ritualistic mutilation and deposition of some Iron Age bog bodies is related to sacral kingship and the maintenance of fertility, sovereignty and power.

Nonetheless, most of the Ballykilleen examples appear to have been deliberately deposited beneath/within structures. Perhaps they were deposited in this manner so as to confer supernatural protection upon the sites and those who used them. These figures may have been revered in other contexts prior to becoming offerings of this sort, or perhaps they were created specifically for the purpose. The unweathered condition of the figures certainly indicates that they were not subject to prolonged exposure. An alternative interpretation is that these idols were ritually deposited as human effigies in lieu of actual human sacrifices. Alder's blood-red colour was perhaps symbolic of the blood of victims of ritualistic killings - a precursor to the ritual deaths evidenced by some Iron Age bog bodies. A late Bronze Age alder figure from Balluchulish, Scotland, may have been such an offering. An account of its discovery suggests that it was deposited face down in a pit at the base of a bog and held in place by stakes and wickerwork. It may be significant that the Kilbeg figure was similarly deposited in a prone position. Evidence from Iron Age bog bodies indicates that certain individuals were ritually slain, deposited in bogs and held in place by brushwood, stakes and so on. It is difficult to believe that these wooden 'human bodies' are not metaphorically related to actual human remains recovered from bogs (O'Sullivan 2007, 188). Kelly (2006) argues that the ritualistic mutilation and deposition of some Iron Age bog bodies is related to sacral kingship and the maintenance of fertility, sovereignty and power.

So deposits of items such as the "Tipperary Idol" may have been associated with the inauguration of a new king and are associated with boundary areas. In this example a bog is a boundary between water and land.

There may be a farmer in the vicinity of the Bog of Cullen near Cullen in Tipperary who has a priceless Bronze Age artifact holding up a gate on their farm!